LeBron James' friend drops bombshell idea pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo with unexpected superstar amid Bucks' playoff struggles

Although Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are just one game into their first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, one of LeBron James' friends is already looking ahead to the future.

In a post on X, Cuffs Tha Legend, a well-known friend of LBJ, floated the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining forces with Kevin Durant. The post, of course, comes amid a rough start to the postseason for The Greek Freak and the Bucks, with the team getting outscored 67-43 in the first half.

"KD & Giannis should play together," Cuffs wrote in his X post.

While Antetokounmpo has impressed this season, and the team is eagerly awaiting the return of Damian Lillard, the Lillard-Antetokounmpo pairing has mostly been a dud for Milwaukee. If the Bucks get eliminated in the first round, it is not the most outrageous idea to think about Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant joining forces.

KD is conveniently on the lookout for a new team after his experiment with the Phoenix Suns didn't work out.

The question, however, is where will they team up. Milwaukee had a hard enough time pulling off a Khris Middleton-Kyle Kuzma trade, thanks to the CBA's rules on salary cap aprons.

So, in order to bring KD to Milwaukee, the Bucks may have to get creative. They would probably be willing to trade Lillard in that scenario.

On the flip side, if Phoenix were to try and acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, pairing him with Durant and Devin Booker, the team would have to find a way to clear up cap space, which will be a tall task given Bradley Beal's no-trade clause.

With Phoenix expected to part ways with Durant this summer, a Durant-Antetokounmpo pairing would likely require the two to join forces on a new team. But such a trade is not likely.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks set to get Damian Lillard back in either Game 2 or Game 3

Leading up to the NBA playoffs, news reports emerged that Damian Lillard had started ramping up his preparations in anticipation of a return.

While Lillard had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis late in the season, early detection and quick intervention by doctors, combined with weekly checkups, has allowed the nine-time All-Star to come off blood thinners in anticipation of his return.

On Saturday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Lillard is expected to return either during Game 2 or Game 3 of the NBA playoffs.

From the sound of things, the deciding factor in Lillard's return will be his conditioning. As Charania reported on Saturday, the veteran guard went through a full practice on Thursday, and with Game 2 of the series set to take place on Tuesday, the team will have an additional 48 hours to get Lillard ready.

If he doesn't return for Game 2 on Tuesday, look for him to be back in action on Friday, Apr. 25 when the series shifts to Milwaukee for Game 3.